SENSATIONAL

PEOPLEAbove, Jim Barr inSan Francisco betweenevents during 48hrs inthe Valley. Opposite page,from left, a mixer hostedby C100 for Canadiancompanies invited by thenon-profit organizationto its entrepreneur bootcamp; Barr receives adviceabout his company, SeekersMedia Inc., from formerStumbleUpon CEO MichaelBuhr and fellow 48hrsparticipant, TorontonianSandy Gibson.Web ExtraVisit techlifemag.ca/festivalseekers.htm for alook at Seekers Media’s latestbrand, FestivalSeekers.com.Day 1, 12:35 p.m.Barr sits in the departure lounge at EdmontonInternational Airport in a blue blazer and jeans. Betweenchecking texts, he muses about an ideal, post-San Franfuture for Seekers Media. He’s nervous, but “so stoked.”“The nerves are in the unknown,” he says. “There’s somuch here that could totally change us and take us tosome outstanding heights.”Previously, the plan was to grow into EasternCanada. No, advised one venture capitalist. Go south.Improve your market by an easy five to 10 fold.So now Barr asks, his mind fixed on the GoldenState, “What happens when SnowSeekers Tahoecomes into play?” He points out how his model, builtout in Alberta and British Columbia, is proven: roughly100 clients, a handful of shareholders and revenuessurpassing $605,000 since inception in January 2009.“Take that and put it into California, and allow themarkets to cross-pollinate.”To him, it’s all but reality. “It’s not a question of iffor us but a question of when,” he says in the minutesbefore boarding.Roughly three hours later, as the plane descendsto San Francisco International, Barr unbuckles andjumps across the aisle for the view of the city as thewing tips earthward.Day 1, 3:15 p.m.At the airport, shortly before the first 48hrs event, Barrdistills his goals. The trip is an opportunity to makeconnections, but “we need some capital,” he saysbluntly. “I’m tired of bootstrapping. I’ve spent so muchenergy watching my bank account.”He recalls a pitch he made in Calgary that didn’tgenerate a single dollar, but less to bemoan it than toupend it as motivation. He boards a train for downtownSan Francisco without hesitation, as if it’s a subwayback home, and mulls over his business plan for theupcoming pitch, less than a day away. Seekers Media’s“secret sauce,” he says, is scalability: spa-seekers, zenseekers,retirement-seekers, on and on. He smiles atthe possibilities.Later, checking into his hotel, he presses the clerk,unsuccessfully, for a discount. “When you’re starting abusiness,” Barr says, “you’ve always got to be wheelingand dealing.”Day 1, 5:19 p.m.“I understand the networking game,” says Barr, “butwhat doors are out there that we as a company don’teven know exist?” At the 48hrs welcome mixer, held ata lively bar in a slightly shabby part of town, he startsinvestigating. Free food and drinks fuel conversationbetween company execs invited from across Canada.42 techlifemag.ca